Unroll those eyes – this isn’t what you’d expect. New to Indiegogo, Employee of the Dead focuses on a supermarket night shift worker who, frustrated with the mundane routine of his shifts, decides to use his film school training to shoot a zombie movie amongst the aisles. What’s even more interesting about this project is it’s based on a true story!
The film has been a passion project for Aaron Truss, director of the fantastic short Pareidolia and the powerful documentary (K)Nox: The Rob Knox Story. It was originally a short film he made with his friends Rob Knox (who would later appear in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince before his tragic murder in 2008) and Joe Acres (Pareidolia)while working the night shift at a supermarket. The time is right for Truss to tell the story of how the short was made and realise his dream of making it into a movie.
The official pitch synopsis is:
Hooban is stuck. Years out of film school, the wrong side of thirty, and still in that ‘temporary’ supermarket job. Then fate steps in and hands him a camera! He’s got four weeks to make a zombie movie on the night shift without his boss finding out and everything on the line. With the help of his sister, Lexie and some VERY patient and supportive mates, Hooban brings the gore to aisle four! Can he get it finished in time before the wheels come flying off?
Check out the Indiegogo pitch video:
The feature version of the short will star Dani Harmer (TV’s Tracy Beaker), Ellie Raé Winstone (The Trap), Paul Casar (Detectorists) as well as Acres, who also co-wrote the script. There will also be appearances from genre legends Nicholas Vince (Hellraiser) and Sean Cronin (Bogieville). The score will be provided by the brilliant Simon Boswell (Santa Sangre) with the visionary cinematographer Vince Knight behind the lens. The zombie film-within-a-film will be helmed by the master of indie filmmaking Jake West (Doghouse).
Aaron Truss (director/co-writer) told us: “I am absolutely overwhelmed with the love and support for this project so far, to be able to work with Joe Acres again as well as Ellie Raé Winstone, Paul Casar and the tour de force that is Dani Harmer. It’s so strange that a tiny moment in my teen years with Joe and Rob Knox is now the subject of a feature film with some of the best horror alumni behind us with Jake West, Nicholas Vince, Sean Cronin, Vince Knight, Kevin Martin, Andy Edwards, Airell Anthony Hayles, Simon Boswell and Pete Pedrero! It is an absolute honour to be able to work with such incredible talent in front and behind the camera. And now we’re opening it up to the public on Indiegogo to see if they believe in the project too, it’s a gamble, but one I hope will pay off”.
Joe Acres (lead actor – Hooban/co-writer) added: “If someone told me when I was a daft kid, making a zombie movie with my mates in a supermarket at 4am, that I would be making a feature film twenty years later with my mates about that very movie (with world class talent on board), that on its own would have been enough to sustain me for twenty years”.
There’s more info about the cast and crew in this video:
Employee of the Dead promises not to be a straight horror film, but a film about making a horror film!
The campaign goes live on July 28th and there are plenty of great perks if you want to support the movie, including signed scripts and on-screen used costumes.
Head over to Indiegogo and pledge your support to a great independent movie!
